According to the earliest account (13th century), a dragon (holophagos, "one who swallows whole") plagued the capital city of Kraków established by legendary King Krak (or Krakus, Gracchus, etc.).

The man-eating monster was being appeased with a weekly ration of cattle, until finally being defeated by the king's sons using decoy cows stuffed with sulfur.

[1][2] According to Wincenty Kadłubek's Polish Chronicle, a dragon appeared during the reign of King Krak (Latin: Grakchus,[3][4] recté Gracchus[5][6]).

St. Wincenty's original Latin text actually refers to the dragon as holophagus'[7] (Polish gloss: całożerca, wszystkożerca;[8] "one who swallows whole"), which was a neologism he had coined.

minor Gracchus,[15] i.e. Krak II; Polish: młodsy Grakus[10]) kills his elder brother blaming the dragon for the death.

[14][18] The idea for the scheme to slay the dragon (olophagus) is credited to King Krak himself, not his sons, because the king fears a mass exodus from the city may take place,[20][18] and he orders to have the carcass stuffed with flammable substances, namely sulfur, tinder (Polish: próchno; Latin: cauma[d]), wax, pitch, and tar and set them on fire.

Długosz also adds the detail that the dragon lived in a cave of Mount Wawel upon which King Krak had built his castle.

[22][23][h] The story still takes place in Kraków during the reign of King Krak, the city's legendary founder, who is here called "Krok".

[j][24][25] The most popular, fairytale version of the Wawel Dragon tale takes place in Kraków during the reign of King Krakus, the city's legendary founder.

Each day the evil dragon would beat a path of destruction across the countryside, killing the civilians, pillaging their homes, and devouring their livestock.

An allusion to the practice of Human sacrifice as part of an older, unknown myth has been suggested by historian Maciej Miezian [pl].

[43] The dragon may have represented the historical Bolesław II who was responsible for the martyrdom of St. Stanislaus of Szczepanów, bishop of Kraków, according to historian Czesław Deptuła [pl].

To the amusement of onlookers, it noisily breathes fire every few minutes, thanks to a natural gas nozzle installed in the sculpture's mouth.